


Pudding of Regret

by Rainyhart



Series: Eat Well and Also Often [10]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, body image issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 18:56:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2239797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainyhart/pseuds/Rainyhart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean thinks he should cut back on the caramel pudding. Castiel thinks otherwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pudding of Regret

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Remember the pudding Dean ate back in "The Purge"? Well, how 'bout the real purpose of it is to make the customers gain weight, and Dean sort of gets addicted to it? Dean gains weight, is super self conscious at first but Cas comes and 'saves the day' by telling him that he's perfect and gives Dean some gentle loving?

“I can’t believe they just gave you the recipe like that,” Sam says one night while he and Dean are relaxing with some beers in the bunker after a hunt. When Dean doesn’t respond he adds, “I can’t believe you’re still eating it after what happened.”

Dean rolls his eyes then. ‘It’ being the thick salted caramel pudding given to the spa patrons whilst he worked undercover on a case that he managed to sneak away on a break to snack on, not knowing that it was actually laced with drugs. Which, yeah it sucked, but salted caramel pudding. So of course he asked for the recipe before they left. And of course he made several batches of it the second they got back to Kansas. And, of course, according to Sam, he’s hardly ever seen not snacking on a bowl of some anymore—but hey, it tastes amazing when it’s not mixed with drugs.

“Yeah well, maybe if you tried it instead of glaring at it like a triple cheeseburger at a diner on the corner for once,” Dean mutters while scooping the remaining bites up from the bowl to finish off.

“I’ll pass, thanks,” Sam stifles a yawn, and then checks his watch. “We should get to bed, it’s pretty late.”

“What time is it?” Dean asks, but it comes out more slurred and less audible than he intended.

“Quarter till’ one,” Sam eyes his brother. “You alright?”

Dean waves him off with a nod. “Yeah,” He mutters, “Yeah, just tired.”

Sam’s eyes travel to the empty bowl of pudding and after a moment he asks, “How many of those did you have?”

It takes a while for Dean to think of the answer but eventually he says something like five or six maybe before telling him if he’s worried he shouldn’t be because he already has enough worry lines and Dean wouldn’t like to be the cause of another one, so instead of chatting about it more they wordlessly clean up and part ways for bed.

-

By the time Dean gets to his bedroom any adrenaline or energy he had post-hunt has long vanished and all he wants to do is strip down and face-plant his pillows, which he starts to do until he gets to his shirt. Here he hesitates, placing a gentle hand to his abdomen with a frown when it sinks in to the touch from the softness of his belly. It’s a fortunate thing he doesn’t have a mirror anywhere in the room because he guarantees no matter how good all that caramel pudding is he won’t like what he sees on his body as a result.

Dean hadn’t even noticed the extra weight, really, until he ended up with red angry lines just under his belly button from how tight his jeans were around his waist about two weeks ago. Now, though he’s been wearing the same three pairs of his biggest hand-me-downs to avoid seeing any marks, but still, the weight is there whether he likes it or not.

He’s ready to flip the lights and slip into bed when there’s a knock on the door, and Dean’s automatic first thought is that he hopes it isn’t Sam because he certainly doesn’t have the energy to throw some more clothes on in order to try and mask the weight he’s been gaining, but when he opens the door he instead comes face to face with Castiel.

Dean clears his throat and steps aside. “You just get in?”

“Yes,” Castiel affirms the moment he sits on the edge of the Dean’s bed, already in the process of removing his coat and boots. “I haven’t found anything of use to you or Sam yet but when I do you’ll be the first I tell.”

“Yeah, I know,” Dean watches him slowly undress, but doesn’t make any move to join him just yet. “So it’s kind of been a while, huh? I mean, you being here at the bunker or—….”

He doesn’t bother adding the ‘here with me’ he was thinking of.

Cas is down to his underwear now, Dean notices, everything else piled up neat on the floor near the bed because he knows how much Dean dislikes a clutter in his personal space.

“Dean,” Cas says.

Dean swallows, “Yeah but it’s fine, you come when you can which is; it’s fine,” He reaches to shut off the light and then once Cas moves over to the other side of the bed Dean reluctantly slides in to join him, shirt still on.

It’s a while before either of them says anything after that, both assuming they’re too caught up in their own thoughts and far too tired from the day’s activities to hold conversation. Which is true, until Cas starts to wrap his arms around Dean’s middle and he noticeably starts to squirm.

He’s not sure if Cas gets the message at first, but then he feels his grip slowly ease away so that he’s staring at Dean’s side, and Dean at the dark ceiling above.

“Cas have you uh,” Dean breathes, not quite sure how to approach the topic, “When you just did that did you…feel anything different?”

“Different?” Cas asks slowly.

“Or weird or, or not normal, anything like that just level with me for a minute,” Dean’s sure he’s blushing. He’s confident he is, and the darkness is a cover he’s becoming progressively more thankful for as this whole thing unfolds.

“No, I didn’t experience anything like that,” Comes Castiel’s patient answer. “But I’m not sure what would be considered not normal so my answer may be unhelpful to you.”

“Me gaining weight,” Dean blurts, slowly turning his head to meet gazes with Castiel’s. “It just kind of happened but I can see it in the mirror when I’m in the bathroom and at first it was just a pound or two but I swear it’s at least ten now because most of my pants don’t fit and I’m almost always hungry which seriously doesn’t help any and-…”

“Dean,” Cas states again, softer this time. There’s a smile on his face that gradually builds until he’s shaking his head with quiet laughter. When Dean’s expression melts from frustration to worry Cas gently cups his face and kisses between his own thumb and Dean’s nose, “You…are perfect,” Here he pauses to kiss the corner of Dean’s mouth, “And incredibly frustrating.”

Dean’s lips.

“And a few new pounds don’t take away the fact that you still Dean Winchester, or that you are still a beautiful person both on the outside and the inside. I can promise you that.”

“Yeah?” Dean croaks, not even flinching this time when Castiel gently rests a hand on his chest near his navel and settles his head at Dean’s collarbone.

“Yeah,” Cas smiles.


End file.
